Passenger airline becomes cargo-only carrier
When American Airlines relaunched cargo-only flights in March, its cargo team started with 20 strategic flights to two key destinations. This September, its cargo-only schedule will total more than 1,000 flights serving 32 cities; a plan that began as an experiment has now grown exponentially over the last six months.
By more than doubling its cargo-only flying compared to August, American Airlines Cargo says being able to meet customer needs amidst a time of record demand.
Tom Howard, a manager at American's integrated operations centre, who led the development of the operation: "We essentially started our own little airline. We had to build all of this out and coordinate how it flows with our scheduled passenger service because, well, we're a passenger airline." (ah)